Curran, a top-five featherweight, and Straus and Freire (who both rank among the division’s top 15) have made Bellator’s 145-pound class one of its most competitive. However, Curran, who won the title in thrilling fashion from Joe Warren in March, recently pulled out of a Bellator 73 title fight with Freire due to a broken orbital bone.

“I spoke to Pat … on Thursday, and Pat told me the doctor told told it’d probably two months before he can start doing any kind of training,” Rebney told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Friday. “So we’re probably looking at the beginning of the November before he can get back in the gym.”

Freire earned his title shot by winning a Season 4 tournament, though a broken hand has put him on the sidelines for the past 15 months. Straus, meanwhile, won a Season 6 tournament earlier this year and also is in line for a shot at the belt.

With Curran now injured, would Rebney and matchmaker Sam Caplan consider matching up Freire and Straus?

“Sam and I talked a lot about the potential of an interim title fight, but it doesn’t fit particularly well within our format because ultimately when you win the tournament, you earn the right to fight for the world title, not an interim title,” Rebney said. “But Strauss is ready to go. ‘Pitbull,’ who’s been out for almost a year with a broken hand, is back and ready to fight.

“We’re thinking about it right now. But what it really boils down to is how quickly Pat will heal. If Pat heals quicker, we’ll still keep ‘Pitbull’ on hold for that title shot. If he doesn’t, we might go in a different direction. But we haven’t made a final decision yet.”

Freire and Straus actually fought once before. In the Season 4 tournament final, Freire scored a unanimous-decision victory over Straus at Bellator 45 to claim his title shot. It remains his most recent appearance.

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